


仲間を忘れるな - Nakama wo Wasureru Na - Don't Forget Your Comrades

by Silent_Ekkoe



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Fuuinjutsu, Fuuinjutsu Master Uzumaki Naruto, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kyuubi | Nine-tails | Kurama & Uzumaki Naruto Friendship, Sage Mode (Naruto), Sage Uzumaki Naruto, Smart Uzumaki Naruto, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-12 22:41:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29392128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silent_Ekkoe/pseuds/Silent_Ekkoe
Summary: At the end of everything, Naruto has no choice but to use his sealing prowess and send himself back in time, to when he was seven years old. With the Uchiha Massacre just around the corner, will he have time to save Itachi and the rest of the Uchiha? And how long can he keep his time travel a secret?
Relationships: Haruno Sakura & Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura & Uzumaki Naruto, Hatake Kakashi & Uzumaki Naruto, Kyuubi | Nine-tails | Kurama & Uzumaki Naruto, Sarutobi Hiruzen & Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Itachi & Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha Itachi & Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Itachi & Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke & Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Shisui & Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 17
Kudos: 187





	1. 第一章：帰郷 - Dai Isshou: Kikyou - Chapter One: Homecoming

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This is the first thing I’ve written in years, since high school really. I’ve never written anything Naruto related before, but I hope you’ll give me a chance. I have nothing planned as far as the plot goes, I’m simply writing for entertainment and to feel productive. Whatever happens happens. Of course, I’m open for ideas. Please do not post to another site. Thank you, and yoroshiku onegaishimasu!
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Kishimoto Masashi does. I do not profit from writing this fanfiction. None of the characters are my own.

When the world is coming to an end, and smoke lies on the horizon, despair would seem to be the only logical option. After all, how can one person, no matter how powerful, make a difference? So as Naruto kneeled on ashen soil, in a landscape that had been torn to shreds and littered with the bodies of comrades, he felt in the depths of his heart said despair. Sasuke looked back at him with filmy eyes, blood trailing down his pale cheeks like tears. Even as Naruto reached down to seek a pulse, he already knew. A choked sob forced itself from his throat as he felt the cold, lifeless skin beneath his blood-stained fingers.

“Sasuke… I’m sorry. I couldn’t save you,” he croaked out, eyes burning. Light footsteps became apparent, approaching at a leisurely pace. Naruto was unable to tear his gaze away from the face of his dead friend.

“There’s no point in fighting anymore, brat. You’re the only one left.”

A spark of anger flashed through Naruto’s deadened hurt, momentarily revitalizing him. He snapped his head up to glare at the enemy. “ _Madara_. Why! Why are you doing this? What do you gain from destroying everything?! From taking everything…”

The man scoffed, Rinnegan eyes narrowed in contempt. “There can be no true peace unless we first clear the slate. I won’t bore you with the details; you’re going to die anyway. Just accept your fate.”

Naruto clenched his fists in anger. _I knew someone who used to talk about fate like that. I helped him, but now he’s dead because of you_. _And now… I have no chakra left. No other choice… Perhaps, it’s time?_

‘ ** _Naruto. You still have the seal?’_** Kurama’s voice rumbled in his mindscape. The fox was thin and straggly like he had been after Naruto first unlocked his Jinchuuriki seal and stolen his chakra. Endless months of fighting, running, hiding, and struggling to survive were getting to be too much, even for the Kyuubi.

_‘Yeah. I think… we have to. We have no allies left. The only way to stop him… is to keep him from ever being resurrected.’_

“You think you’ve won, Madara. And maybe you’re right. Maybe you have won…” Chakra began to circulate through Naruto’s overused tenketsu, burning. Previously invisible seal patterns rose on his skin, inky black swirls and abstract figures coalescing into existence. The atmosphere became charged with chakra, swirling in from what remained of the surrounding nature and imbuing the seals with power. Madara frowned, eyes narrowed and uncertain. “In this time… I’ll leave you to your world of ashes. Because I…” Naruto gasped, the sheer volume of chakra flooding his system beginning to sear him from the inside out, even considering his capacity as a Jinchuuriki. “I will stop you this time… Believe it!”

The chakra reached a critical point. Madara, recognizing the seemingly suicidal move shouted and leaped forward in a last-ditch effort to stop Naruto from fulfilling his plan. But it was too late. A searing light, a deafening explosion, and then nothing. Wind blew ominously through an empty battlefield, where no living thing remained.

すべてをなくしても、希望を捨てないで。

Subete wo nakushite mo, kibou wo sutenai de.

Even if you lose everything, don’t give up hope.

Warm blankets. Tranquil quiet. The rhythm of his own breathing. Naruto felt at peace, unwilling to move or do much of anything. However, he still managed to slowly crack his eyes open. Blinking rapidly, he took in the sight of a familiar wall, a messy apartment. _I’m dreaming_ , he thought. He must have been, as this apartment had been destroyed when Pain attacked. But then…

 ** _‘Naruto… Naruto, get a hold of yourself. We’re in the past. The seal worked.’_** He sat bolt upright. “Kurama? It- I- it worked? We’re, we’re really here?” Naruto stumbled out of bed and rose on clumsy, too-short legs. His apartment really was just as it had been when he was … seven years old? That was the age that the seal was calibrated to. Looking at the calendar on his wall… it was two months before the Uchiha massacre! That wasn’t a lot of time, but… if he could just get close to Itachi, and do something about Danzou, and maybe talk to Sasuke’s dad, what was his name… Fugaku! Naruto began to feel lightheaded as he thought of how much he had to do in so little time. And as a seven-year-old! **_‘Calm down, brat! One thing at a time. We planned this out already, remember?’_**

“Right, right. Sorry, Kurama. I just… it’s impossible to think of having to do this alone. No one would believe me if I said I was from the future!” Somewhere outside of Naruto’s window, a certain white-haired ANBU stifled a choked sound. However, there was little that could escape Naruto’s acute hearing, with Kurama’s aid of course. “Shit.”

**_‘You can say that again. Really, you’ve been awake less than five minutes and things are already going down the drain. Why did I decide to help you again?’_ **

_‘Don’t be like that Kurama! What do we do?!’_ Wisely, Naruto no longer spoke his conversation aloud. The fox was silent for a moment as he thought, while Naruto impatiently looked back and forth between his window and the door. The ANBU was still there, as evidenced by his heartbeat, clearly having decided to not report back to the Hokage yet. Finally, Kurama responded. **_‘You’re seven years old. You were just talking to yourself. No need to get worked up over a child’s imagination.’_**

Naruto sighed in relief. _‘What would I do without you, old fox? Thank Kami. I probably would’ve gone straight to the Hokage and confessed…’_

 ** _‘Even after everything, you’re too honest, brat.’_** In Naruto’s mindscape, the fox folded his arms and huffed in exasperation—let no one ever describe the action as affectionate. However, both remained aware of the ANBU’s presence outside. Something was familiar about them, but Naruto knew that if he tried to look, the ANBU would remain perfectly out of sight. He never knew that he’d had ANBU watching him as a kid in the… _past_ , but he supposed it made sense. He was a Jinchuuriki after all. _‘I’ll just have to be more careful when I’m talking to you from now on. Before, it didn’t matter, because everyone knew, but now…’_

**_‘They’ll think I’m manipulating you to try and escape… speaking of which, we’re going to have to do something about that seal of yours soon. I don’t want to spend any more time in this filthy sewer than I have to.’_ **

_‘You’re right. Man, am I glad for those scrolls.’_ Said scrolls referred to the lost knowledge of Uzushiogakure. During the war, the alliance had sought refuge in the ruins of his ancestors’ village, and there Naruto had discovered the secrets of sealing. With the help of shadow clones and Kurama’s own secondary experience in sealing (having witnessed the sealing prowess of both Uzumaki Kushina and Mito), Naruto had mastered the sealing arts in short order. Although Kurama insisted that ‘mastered’ is rather pushing it. He was at least on par with his parents’ abilities, and now that he was in the past, he had the opportunity to continue his self-education. ‘ _I wish I knew how great sealing was when I was younger. Man, that would have been so useful during missions! All the extra supplies I could pack, for one, and then the traps!’_

 ** _‘Yes, brat, I know about your penchant for traps and wiliness. Heh, I could almost say you take after a fox.’_** Naruto smiled inwardly at that. Bastard fox… no matter how much he pretended, Naruto knew that Kurama had come to truly care for him. And no way would Naruto let him down!

The ANBU left eventually, replaced by another that was not so oddly familiar. Naruto knew that he knew the first one, and there were few possibilities as to who it could have been. However, now was the time for planning. As of right now, Naruto had little to do other than pull pranks and attend the academy. At least, that was how it had been in the original timeline. He received a weekly stipend from the old man Hokage, which was just enough to take care of his rent and feed him. With what little savings he had, it was unlikely that we would be able to acquire ninja tools of any caliber. However, he had other things that he could work on training with his young body. The first of which was chakra control, which he had predicted would be shot to hell after returning to the past. He didn’t want to try anything in his apartment due to the risk of damage, but that would be the first thing on this training list. After that would be retraining his body for sage mode. And in the meantime, he would work on unlocking Kurama’s seal and avoiding the Uchiha massacre… somehow.

Sometime later, a knock sounded on his door. Naruto tensed, but relaxed quickly with a breath and went to answer it. Opening the door, he saw… “Jijii!”

For a moment, he was caught in disbelief. The last time he’d seen the Jijii had been when he was brought back as an Edo Tensei. Now, seeing him alive, well, and just a bit younger… it hurt, but in a good way. It was still so hard to accept that he was really back in the past, that everyone whom he had lost was now alive and well, but the evidence was standing right in front of him. Hardly having to think about it, Naruto threw himself at the Hokage and wrapped him in a tight hug.

“Naruto! I’m glad to see you’re doing well, my boy. It hasn’t been that long since I last came for a visit, has it?” The Hokage laughed gently, patting Naruto on the head. Naruto pulled back, just barely keeping any tears from pouring out in his joy.

“No, but I’m always happy to see you! H-how’s the village, old man? Fight off any bad ninja lately?” It was easier than he’d thought to fall back into old habits, but also a struggle to keep the relief (and grief) out of his voice.

“Oh, Naruto. Being Hokage isn’t all about fighting bad ninja. You have to pay attention to the people of the village as well. But enough about me, how have you been? You’re doing well in your apartment here, aren’t you?”

 _Of course I know that’s not all that the Hokage is supposed to be, old man. I was the Rokudaime, after all._ “Well, it sure is better than the orphanage. I can do whatever I want here!” Naruto exclaimed enthusiastically. He didn’t miss the Hokage’s slight grimace. _Here it comes…_

“Well, how about we go to get some ramen from Ichiraku’s then?” _Yatta!_ Naruto didn’t feel too bad about the slight manipulation. After all, it was ramen! It had been too long since he’d last had Ichiraku’s, and he had to be able to enjoy the past at least a little bit while he was in it! _Don’t think about Teuchi and Ayame-chan._

So as Naruto trailed happily after the Hokage on his way to enjoy some fresh ramen, he allowed himself to bask in the sight of his village, whole once again. The villagers didn’t dare to glare at him while he was at the Hokage’s side, and so Naruto could forget for a moment the looming darkness of the future and focus on the here and now of the long lost past. For the first time in too long, he could smile genuinely.

過去は可能性でいっぱいだ。

Kako wa kanousei de ippai da.

The past is full of possibilities.


	2. 第二章：キツネとイタチ - Dai Nishou: Kitsune to Itachi - Chapter Two: Fox and Weasel

The next day after returning from this past and receiving his visit from the Hokage, was a Sunday, and Naruto set straight to work. He had no time to lose, after all, with the Uchiha Massacre just on the horizon. Waking at five a.m., he created a shadow clone and performed a henge on himself in order to appear as an older, nondescript chuunin. One seal painted on his forearm would help to keep it in place, even if he were struck, and another would subtly divert attention and curiosity without causing suspicion. He had worked especially hard on that one during the war in order to evade detection by the enemy. _‘At least I don’t need to train my body to use seals again.’_

 _**‘Don’t let that be a reason to slack on the rest of your training,’**_ Kurama snarked, although there was no real bite to it. He was, in fact, proud of Naruto for learning the Fuuinjutsu with such incredible speed.

_‘And that’s why I’m out in a training field at the butt crack of dawn,’_ Naruto replied snidely. The tree in front of him was peppered with holes and scraped bark from his attempts to climb it and recalibrate his chakra control. Sweat beaded on his brow. He really did need to cut down on the ramen and eat more nutritious foods…

Fortunately, it didn’t take Naruto nearly as long to relearn the tree-climbing exercise as it had the first time. He didn’t have that kind of time anyway. He immediately continued onto water-walking, and by then the sun was well into the sky. Other ninja began to fill the training ground, practicing Shurikenjutsu and sparring with one another. No one paid him a second glance, which meant that the seals were working as they were supposed to. By noontime, Naruto realized that he was, in fact, starving. His heart ached for ramen, but… ‘ _Gah! Why is it so hard to not eat ramen?!’_

Kurama huffed indifferently. **_‘At least with your disguise no one will refuse you as a customer.’_**

_‘There is that…’_

Soon after that, Naruto returned to his apartment lugging an armful of groceries. Fruits, vegetables, you name it. He undid his henge before going inside, carefully aware of the ANBU on the rooftops. The shadow clone was still inside, having been instructed to ‘do whatever’ in the apartment all morning, so Naruto had to be sneaky in switching out without raising suspicion. His attempt succeeded, however, so now he could focus on his next task. Cooking couldn’t be that hard, right? Kurama probably knew how. He remembered from the proto-Tsukuyomi that his mom had been one hell of a cook! And so, Kurama resigned himself to instructing Naruto on a surprisingly elaborate curry recipe. (Kurama would never admit that he enjoyed cooking, even if he couldn’t eat the result.)

“Augh! Umai! It’s so good… ‘ _I wish mom could have cooked it for me herself.’_ ” Naruto moaned, patting his round belly. He would have to build up his physique quickly, but he couldn’t overdo it either at the risk of stunting his growth. He had been short enough in the original timeline as is!

Having eaten a good meal and feeling refreshed, Naruto continued onto his next mission for the day: finding information on one Uchiha Itachi. Leaving his rickety apartment once more, he began his trek towards the Uchiha compound. It was odd to walk through Konoha and see the police force once again. For so long, Sasuke was the only one… but now he had a chance to change that. In the distance, he saw the formidable white walls of Sasuke’s home. Although at this point, he supposed the Uchiha may see it as more of prison. Hopefully, Naruto could fix that perspective.

He didn’t attempt to go inside. Most normal outsiders would have a hard time getting permission to enter. Konoha’s own demon container? Forget it. Naruto winced slightly as he sensed ill intent from within the walls with Kurama’s help and a whisper of nature energy. It wasn’t as bad as killer intent but was definitely off-putting. It was too bad that Naruto couldn’t identify people based on their chakra the way a true sensor could, otherwise it would be much easier to find Itachi. From what he knew of Sasuke’s childhood, however, he didn’t think he would have much luck finding Itachi here anyway. He would be in ANBU by now, and for all Naruto knew he wasn’t even in the village at the moment. With that in mind, Naruto wandered idly through the village, making sure to get a good look at the ANBU on the rooftops as he went. It didn’t help much, though, as he didn’t know which animal Itachi’s mask was based on. It couldn’t possibly be a weasel, could it? That would be way too obvious… It was hard enough to interpret what animal the masks represented anyway, as they were so abstract. Then again, he may as well keep an eye out for such a mask. Hiding in plain sight, perhaps?

Before long, the sun was sinking on the horizon, casting the village in its gentle orange glow. Naruto found himself sitting atop the Hokage monument, reflecting. Every moment that passed without progress, even if it was only a day, was painful. Naruto was impatient by nature, although his sage training had tempered that somewhat. He’d had no success in finding Itachi, although he had glimpsed an ANBU that he thought could have been Captain Yamato. It was hard to tell.

A sudden rush of clone memories flooded Naruto’s mind. He had sent out one when he was training earlier that morning so that it could sneak out of the village, create more clones, and train away from prying eyes. They had made significant progress, at least. Water-walking down, and the beginnings of the Rasengan. At this rate, Naruto would really have to worry about hiding his knowledge and abilities from others. Fortunately (or unfortunately), he had no friends he could slip up with. The Hokage visited once a month or so, and not for very long, so it shouldn’t be too hard at this point in time. He should arrange to meet with his chuunin alter ego at some point though in case he gets caught switching out. It would be risky to create a false identity like that, but it would be necessary if he wanted to continue using the training grounds within the village. He could also use the henge to talk to older shinobi and gather information. With this in mind, he began to formulate a plan.

自分を信じて、もっと明るい地平線は遠くない。

Jibun wo shinjite, motto akarui chiheisen wa tookunai.

Believe in yourself, brighter horizons are not far off.

A week passed with no sign of Itachi. A _week_. Naruto felt jittery with nerves. He couldn’t do anything to help the Uchiha if he didn’t have an in! As a last resort, he would reveal himself to Jijii, but at the moment such a move was far too desperate. He had been sending a shadow clone to the Academy in his place so that he could search in person, but it had been fruitless so far.

**_‘Perhaps you should seek out Sasuke instead. He would be much easier to find than any specific ANBU,’_** Kurama suggested after a long session of Naruto pacing restlessly through his apartment. The blonde paused, eyes lighting up.

“Of course!” He paused. ‘ _I mean, of course! I know he always used to hang out by the river to practice his fire Jutsu._ ’ With that, he practically flew from his apartment, smirking when his ANBU almost lost their balance in their haste to follow the sudden change in activity. Before long, Naruto arrived at his destination to find… an empty dock. ‘ _Damn. Maybe I just have to wait?_ ’

‘ ** _It wouldn’t be any different from what you’ve been doing all week_** ,’ Kurama responded.

‘ _Bastard._ ’

‘ ** _Brat_**.’

Naruto snorted and allowed himself to relax some. Sasuke would show up eventually. He was always here training after school during their days in the Academy, so it wasn’t a stretch to think that Sasuke would show up now. And so, Naruto chose a slightly out of the way spot to sit and wait. He used the time to meditate, feeling the nature energy around him and cycling it in and out of his system. When he had first trained to use nature energy, he had required the help of the toads so that he wouldn’t petrify. Now, however, he had Kurama to help him, and his own sense of the proper chakra ratio for sage mode. He may have less chakra than he used to, but the ratio would always remain unchanged. It always struck a certain chord in his chakra system when he reached that perfect mixture, and he had learned to find that with such ease that it hardly required him to think at all. He was careful to disguise his chakra signature with seals, though, so as to avoid getting caught by any nearby sensor ninja. He found that he preferred to ink seals directly onto his skin rather than keeping them on paper as most others seemed to prefer. Even better, make them on paper first then transfer the design to his skin with chakra. Seals were more powerful this way, with direct contact to his chakra system.

Light footsteps interrupted his thoughts, and he looked up to see, at last, his target ambling down to the dock, hands in his pockets. ‘ ** _Duck butt_** ,’ Kurama commented, snickering. Naruto rolled his eyes, ignoring the fox’s antics and instead casually making his way towards chibi Sasuke. _Although at this point, we’re both still chibis…_

He paused a few feet behind Sasuke until he was finally noticed. Sasuke turned and narrowed his eyes at the young blonde. “Who’re you?”

_Ah. We must not have met in this timeline yet, or at least not talked to each other. We are in the same class, though…_ Naruto smiled brightly and called upon his younger self. “My name is Uzumaki Naruto dattebayo! And one day, I’m gonna be the Rokudaime Hokage! Believe it!”

Sasuke scoffed disbelievingly. Man, even at this age he was already picking up on that Uchiha attitude! “Not Godaime?”

“Maa, Jijii’s pretty old, and I’m still kinda young to be Hokage, so I figure there’ll be another Hokage before I get my turn, ya know? Anyway, whatcha doin’ here out here?”

“Hn. Training.”

Naruto tilted his head curiously. “Oh? You wanna be a ninja too?”

Sasuke’s eyes glinted slightly. Now he was interested. “So what if I am?”

“I bet you know some cool Jutsus. You’re an Uchiha, right? You’ve got the Uchiwa on your shirt.” ‘ _Bingo. Sasuke-temee would never turn down an opportunity to show off!_ ’

Sasuke just smirked. “Watch this.” Turning, the young Uchiha faced the water and carefully performed a series of familiar hand signs. “Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!”

Blistering flames shot from the chibi’s mouth, spreading out over the water with a blazing roar. The Jutsu lasted several seconds before petering out. Sasuke slumped, breathing heavily but grinning with pride.

“Wow, that’s so cool! Uh, you never told me your name, though…”

“Sasuke.” He crossed his arms, positively preening. He had to get praise from somewhere, if not from his father. As long as Naruto didn’t overdo it like the girls at the Academy. Naruto shuddered at the thought. He wanted to get on Sasuke’s _good_ side!

“Well, I’m glad that we met Sasuke. We should train together, don’cha think?”

“Hn. Only if you’re good. Spar with me, then we’ll see.”

Naruto grinned foxily. His coordination had improved greatly over the last few days, relying heavily on the muscle memory of his younger body. It was difficult at first, due to his mind being used to having longer limbs, but thankfully the adjustment wasn’t too difficult. “You’re on!”

The two boys faced off. One, young and naïve, only wanting to be recognized by a father who expected too much. The other, worn of mind, wise with experience, facing off for the first time with a friend whom he had in truth faced many times before. A leaf fluttered between them, carried by the breeze. The moment it touched the ground, the two charged at one another.

Sasuke led immediately with a punch towards Naruto’s face, which was easily ducked under. Naruto grabbed Sasuke’s wrist and pulled it back, twisting so that Sasuke lost his balance. After that, it was easy to get in close and trip him so that he fell on the dock. Naruto immediately flew on top of him, sitting on his stomach and holding his wrists in place. “Ha! Take that, Sasuke-temee!”

“ _Temee?!_ Naruto usuratonkachi!” Laughter bubbled up out of Naruto’s chest as he basked in the nostalgia from the old insult. Sasuke struggled under Naruto’s grip, but after a minute with no result, he had to accept defeat. The fight had been quick, but that was to be expected. Sasuke was only seven, after all, and nothing like his older brother. Naruto got up and helped a huffing Sasuke to his feet.

“That was fun. I bet we can improve a lot if we keep practicing with each other,” Naruto suggested, grinning. Sasuke gave him a considering look.

“Fine. I _guess_ you’re okay… Let’s go again.” As so they continued to spar into the evening as a new bond of rivalry was formed.

絆は永遠だ。

Kizuna wa eien da.

Bonds are eternal.

Several days later, as Naruto and Sasuke walked out of the Academy side by side, there were met with a welcome sight.

“Nii-san!” Sasuke cried in excitement, breaking his aloofness the moment he saw his brother.

Itachi smiled. “Hello, Sasuke. Did you have a good day at school today? And who is this with you?”

As for Naruto, he felt ready to collapse in relief. Finally! He’d found Itachi! Or rather, Itachi had found him, but semantics!

Sasuke looked almost shy for a moment. It was cute, in a child sort of way. “My fri- rival, Uzumaki Naruto. We spar together after school.”

Naruto was certain that Itachi knew who he was, being ANBU and all, but he was glad that Itachi didn’t seem to be acting hostile towards him in any way like the rest of the village. He hadn’t expected it, of course, having known Itachi in the future, but that was after he had left the village. Who knew what he would be like before?

Itachi smiled gently at Naruto. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Uzumaki Naruto. My name is Itachi, and I am Sasuke’s older brother. I’m glad that he has found a… rival in you.” He chuckled softly.

‘ _Damn it!_ ’ Naruto cursed. ‘ _Itachi is such a good person. I can’t believe Danzou. How could he do something so horrible to Itachi?!_ ’

‘ ** _Itachi is a good human_** ,’ Kurama conceded, which for him was akin to the highest of praise.

Out loud, Naruto responded, “Oh yeah, we learn lots together! I bet you know more, since you’re older and stuff. Say, would you mind training with us sometime? We’d get better even faster that way, ya know?”

Sasuke looked up at his brother with hopeful eyes. Itachi looked like he was about to turn them down for a moment, but then Naruto activated his own puppy dog eyes, which he had perfected over many years to the point where they worked even as the teenager he had been during the war. Itachi seemed torn now, and he needed only one more nudge to push him into an agreement. And luckily for Naruto…

“Aw, you’re not really going to leave them hanging, are you Itachi-kun?” And so another wild Uchiha appears. He had short curly hair, a surprisingly easygoing attitude by Uchiha standards, and rather striking eyeliner. Naruto didn’t recognize him, of course, but he had a feeling he knew who it was.

“Shisui-san. I didn’t expect to see you here. Were you not on a mission?” Itachi asked, looking as surprised as the emotionally stunted boy could.

“Just got back and thought I’d check in on you and your little brother! And his new friend, Uzumaki Naruto was it? Nice to meet you.”

“You too, Shisui! You gotta convince Itachi to help us, ya know!” Sasuke nodded his head in fervent agreement. Nothing could get him more excited than attention from his brother, apparently. ‘ _Which makes that tragedy all the more sad…_ ’

Shisui chuckled. “Looks like you’ve got no choice, Itachi-kun. Besides, you’re not doing anything anyway! I think I’ll take along too, how about it?”

Itachi sighed, giving in. “Okay. Let us go to one of the training grounds.”

“Yatta!” Naruto exclaimed in triumph. Sasuke was grinning unabashedly for once, and even Itachi had a slight turn to his lips. Shisui swung an arm over Itachi’s shoulders as they walked, telling him some joke as they went, while Naruto skipped excitedly around them. He hardly had to act; everything was going great! He couldn’t wait to finally be able to do something to help the Uchiha. Now he just needed to get Itachi on his own. It would require telling the truth, but Naruto trusted Itachi. After all, Itachi would do anything to protect the village and Sasuke.

固い外面、柔らかい内面。

Katai gaimen, yawarakai naimen.

Hard exterior, soft interior.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: Yes, Shisui is still alive in this story. In the anime, he dies quite some time before the massacre, but here’s where I’m changing some things in the timeline. I just think it makes more sense for the massacre to occur soon after Danzou makes his move on Shisui, rather than having months of time between Shisui’s death and the massacre.


	3. 第三章：ナルトの正体 - Dai Sanshou: Naruto no Shoutai - Chapter Three: Naruto's True Self

Itachi was a quiet child. He didn’t enjoy attention, and he didn’t care to flaunt his skills. He often wished he weren’t a ‘genius’, as many referred to him as. In fact, there were many things that he wished for. Peace for his village. Happiness for his brother. An end to the violence of his life as an ANBU… but he could not reject the responsibilities of his clan, especially at a time as critical as this. The coup was planned to take place in under two months, and despite his actions as a double spy for the Hokage, tensions were only getting worse. Itachi feared for the future. But on days like this, where he could greet his little brother after school, see that he had finally made a friend (or rival, as he seemed to be intent on naming the relationship), Itachi could feel at ease, even if only for a short while.

Uzumaki Naruto was an interesting character. He had been assigned to watch him on ANBU duty several times in the past, so he knew the Jinchuuriki’s behavioral patterns well. So when he discovered that Naruto had gone and befriended Sasuke of all people, he was rather surprised. From what he knew, Naruto was the dead last in his class, and all prior attempts at making friends had ended in tragedy for the younger boy. Parents yelling at him, throwing slurs, teaching their children to do the same without ever telling them _why_ they were to ostracize the lonely pariah of Konoha. It saddened Itachi to see this and be unable to interfere. Naruto was never to know that he had an ANBU guard at all times, as even a child as young as him would soon become suspicious as to why he was being singled out. It was bad enough with the villagers calling him a ‘demon brat’ at every interval.

Nevertheless, Itachi was glad that he had an excuse to meet him in person now. Without his mask on, nothing was keeping him from protecting Naruto from the townspeople. He knew his father would disapprove of this relationship, however. The Uchiha were suspected of having a hand in the Kyuubi attack seven years ago and getting close to the Jinchuuriki like this would only reinforce that belief. Initially, Itachi had intended to turn down Naruto’s request for training, but Shisui’s intervention had prevented that. He was glad, and lucky to have such a good friend as Shisui to support him.

Having arrived at an out of the way training ground near the edge of the village, Itachi instructed Naruto and Sasuke to spar so that he could gain some insight into their relative skill levels. Both were eager to comply, with Shisui happily taking up position as a referee. “Show ‘em what you’re made of, Naruto-kun!” Shisui shouted gleefully. Sasuke frowned. “Oh, don’t give me that look. We both know that Itachi-kun’s on your side, so someone’s gotta stick up for Naruto-kun over here!”

Naruto beamed at the attention and immediately settled into a stance. Itachi was surprised at his form; it was near- no, it _was_ perfect. Not only that, but it was definitely not the standard form taught at the Academy. Where had he learned it from? Itachi met Shisui’s contemplative gaze. Clearly, Shisui had noticed as well. Needing to see more, Itachi signaled for the spar to begin.

Sasuke attacked first, feinting a punch before following it with his other fist. Naruto skillfully evaded, feet sliding smoothly over the grass. He moved like a whirlpool, pivoting and stepping around Sasuke as the other continued his attack, punching and kicking in violent flurries. Suddenly, Sasuke switched tactics and retreated to glare at Naruto, who was slightly winded at this point compared to Sasuke’s heavy breaths. “How do you move like that?” he demanded.

“It’s not hard. I’m sure you can learn it too. I’ve just practiced with it a lot on my own. If I can stay close to the enemy and avoid their attacks while saving my energy, they’ll get tired faster,” Naruto responded encouragingly. Itachi frowned. No one could get that could just by ‘practicing on their own’. Besides, Naruto was constantly under watch. Someone would have reported his self-training to the Hokage. So how in the world did he become so skilled, so quickly?

Itachi quickly returned his attention to the spar as Sasuke launched himself back at Naruto without warning. Naruto didn’t seem to expect the sudden strike, and before he could fully move out of the way Sasuke was able to land a grazing punch to his shoulder. However, Itachi had a feeling now that Naruto had allowed himself to be hit, because just as Sasuke’s fist made impact, Naruto flipped back and planted his hands on the ground, kicking Sasuke under the chin as his legs followed overhead. Sasuke stumbled back but recovered quickly. He shot once more towards his rival, but Naruto simply ducked down and rolled past Sasuke, catching him with a sweeping kick to the back of the knee and taking his balance. Not hesitating, Naruto latched onto Sasuke’s ankle and _pulled_ , taking his opponent the rest of the way to the ground where Naruto could kneel on his chest and claim victory. Both were sweating now, though Sasuke was definitely worse for wear. Shisui called the match, patting Naruto on the back and helping Sasuke to his feet.

“That was a good spar, you two. I can see room for improvement in both of you,” Shisui said, although Itachi knew that was a lie. There was nothing wrong with Naruto’s end of the spar. In fact, it was astonishing. Was this some power of a Jinchuuriki? No… it had to be something else. Itachi needed to speak to Naruto alone.

“Hn,” Sasuke said, rubbing dirt off his nose. “I’ll be better next time, usuratonkachi.”

_An interesting nickname_ , Itachi thought. _Naruto seems to be anything but dim-witted._ He approached the young blonde and nodded towards him. “You displayed some interesting moves there. If you don’t mind, I would like to ask you about them.”

Something akin to triumph sparked in Naruto’s eyes. Had he been waiting for Itachi to ask him this? “Sure!” Naruto agreed. But then, he lowered his voice, looking towards Sasuke and Shisui. “But I think it would be better to talk about it in my apartment, ya know? It’s a _secret_.” And then he winked. Itachi was more confused than ever, but it seemed that this was the best option at the moment, so he just nodded. Looking back towards Sasuke, he saw Shisui giving out some pointers and helping with his younger brother’s form. Hopefully, he wouldn’t be too upset that he was leaving with Naruto. In fact, perhaps it would be best if…

“Sasuke. I have to go now. Be good, okay? Shisui can help you.” Hopefully, Naruto caught on.

Sasuke frowned. “But nii-san, we only just got here, and you’ve been so busy so often lately.”

Itachi just smiled softly and approached little Sasuke. “Next time, otouto.” And he poked him on the forehead. Sasuke just grumbled incoherently, crossing his arms but not arguing any further.

“Uh, actually, I have to go too, Sasuke. I’ll see you tomorrow though, okay? Have fun with Shisui!” Naruto added. Thankfully, Shisui didn’t seem to be upset at being saddled with babysitting. If anything, he seemed to be excited about it.

“Let me show you a trick with your Shuriken, eh Sasuke-kun?” Shisui said, smiling. Sasuke’s eyes lit up at the prospect, so Itachi relaxed somewhat. But then remembered again why he was leaving. With that in mind, he and Naruto left the training ground together. When the others were out of sight, Naruto pulled ahead and began to guide the young ANBU towards his apartment. Curiously enough, he seemed to glance up at the roofs frequently, as if checking for something. Did he know that he had ANBU following him? Itachi was vaguely aware that Genma was on guard duty right now. And sure enough, Naruto glanced right up at the roof where Genma was lurking behind the shadow of a water tank in ANBU outfit. _How long has he known…?_

Before long, Itachi found himself in Naruto’s apartment, which, unsurprisingly, was littered with ramen containers, dirty laundry, and other unmentionable things. Naruto walked over towards the window and pressed his hand to the wall, where a previously invisible seal flared into life. Immediately, all outside sound became muffled, and the world outside the window blurred into a vague mush of colors. _A privacy seal… Perhaps the Hokage placed it there_ , Itachi reasoned to himself. But then Naruto turned to face him and spoke bluntly. “I trust you, Itachi. I haven’t told anyone else what I’m about to tell you.”

Itachi frowned. He’d been doing that a lot today. “We’ve only just met.”

“From your perspective, perhaps. But I’ve known you a bit longer than that.” Itachi opened his mouth to interrupt, but Naruto held up a hand. Surprisingly, Itachi felt himself grow quiet at that and nod for the blonde to continue. “Right. You see, I’m not _exactly_ who you think I am. I mean, I am, but I’m also more. You saw my Taijutsu skills today. No way could a seven-year-old know how to do that, right?”

Itachi felt a slight chill run down his spine. “… Where did you learn those skills, then, Uzumaki Naruto?”

At this, the younger boy took a deep breath before meeting Itachi’s eyes directly. Itachi realized that this was the first time he had done so since meeting him. “I can show you. Through my mindscape. Trust in me, please?”

Itachi froze. Naruto knew about that ability of the Sharingan, and he _wanted_ Itachi to use it on him? He… he needed to know. Where did Naruto get this information from? And he was asking Itachi, a near-perfect stranger to _trust_ in him? But what if he encountered the Kyuubi when he entered Naruto’s mind? He couldn’t risk the beast escaping. Yet at the same time, the Jinchuuriki’s seal was perfectly intact. Using the Sharingan in this way would do nothing to weaken it. The privacy seal was still active… and this could be the only way to get the answers he needed. Naruto continued to meet his gaze, unwavering, trusting. After what felt like an eternity, Itachi took exhaled deeply and nodded.

“I will trust you, Naruto. I hope that I shall not regret it.”

“You won’t.”

And so Itachi’s mature Sharingan spun into life. He blinked, and his surroundings transformed into that of a dimly lit, flooded sewer. Droplets of water echoed as they dripped down from the ceiling. The sewer stretched into the distance in either direction, with alternate passageways branching off at seemingly random intervals.

“Yeah, sorry it’s not the nicest place. I’m working on it, though.”

Itachi jumped at the unfamiliar voice. Well, not quite unfamiliar but… different. Turning, he saw a blonde teenager, older than him by several years at least. Perhaps around eighteen? He looked gaunt, with shadows around his eyes. His clothes were scuffed and torn in places, but the color was unmistakably a blinding orange. Whisker marks on his cheeks, a strange hitai-ate with ‘shinobi’ written on it in kanji, oddly enough, and bright blue eyes. There was no mistake. He was looking at an older version of Uzumaki Naruto. “I don’t understand. How can this be?”

The older Naruto nodded sympathetically. “It’s confusing, I know. Follow me and I’ll explain on the way.” He began to lead Itachi through the sewer, seeming to have no trouble navigating the convoluted mess of tunnels. Their footsteps echoed for a long time, each splash deafeningly loud in the otherwise quiet environment. “I am Uzumaki Naruto. I grew up in Konohagakure. And I graduated from the Academy at age twelve.”

“You’re seven? But you look to be older.”

“Getting to that. I was placed on team seven with Sasuke and a girl named Haruno Sakura. My jounin sensei was Hatake Kakashi. I won’t go into the details right now, as I know you don’t have a lot of time in my mindscape but let me say this: in a little under ten years from now, the Fourth Great Ninja War will begin.”

Itachi almost stumbled, just barely managing to catch himself. _Knowledge of the future? Or possibly…_ “Are you implying that you have traveled through time?”

Naruto smirked at him over his shoulder, but then frowned sadly. “That’s exactly what I’m implying. At the end of the war, everything was lost. The five great nations were in ruin. But, I had one last move up my sleeve. I didn’t even know if it would work, but luckily for me, it did. And I’m not the only one that came back.”

The pair came to the end of a hallway, where it opened up into a massive room. On the other end of the room, towering prison bars rose from the water. A delicate sheet of paper on the lock read ‘seal’. And behind those bars, two blazing red glared back at him. “ **Uchiha** ,” the nine-tailed fox rumbled, its great voice reverberating throughout the chamber. Itachi felt rooted in place, too terrified to act in the face of such a powerful being. But then, the fox continued, “ **… I’m glad that you made it. We have much to do.** ”

捕食者の目から逃げる方法はない。

Hoshokusha no me kara nigeru houhou wa nai.

There is no escape from the eyes of a predator.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to those who have bookmarked my story and left kudos. And thank you for the comment, Yaniv1233! I don't have much planned yet, but I'm already having a lot of fun writing this. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and if so, please tell me what you think! I will welcome any ideas and healthy criticism. What are some things that you have wanted to see in a Naruto time travel fic that you've never come across before? I might consider incorporating it somehow! Until next time. Jaa ne!


	4. 第四章：うちはの現実 – Dai Yonshou: Uchiha no Genjitsu – Chapter Four: The Reality of the Uchiha

Naruto was so incredibly relieved that he had been able to get Itachi into the seal space. If he hadn’t, he didn’t want to think about what would have happened. But now, there was no denying it. Itachi had laid eyes on Naruto’s future self, and now he was standing before Kurama, who was being surprisingly ambivalent despite his general opinion towards the Uchiha. Itachi was quaking in his sandals, sure, but he had come this far.

“ **What, no questions? Don’t make me regret my civility towards an Uchiha, of all people**.” Naruto redacted his previous observation.

“I… I am just surprised, is all,” Itachi stuttered out. His voice may have been a _tad_ higher than normal. “This day is not going at all how I anticipated.”

Naruto lay an encouraging palm on Itachi’s shoulder, who jerked in surprise, glancing at the offending hand. “Don’t worry, Itachi. Kurama doesn’t bite! At least, he doesn’t bite friends, hehe.”

“ **Don’t talk about me as if I am a pet, brat**!” Kurama snarled, albeit somewhat halfheartedly. “ **I will bite who I please…** ”

Itachi, for his part, didn’t seem to know what to make of the interaction. “You and the Kyuubi… you are allies? Naruto, you have befriended… Kurama?”

Naruto grinned, glad that Itachi would refer to Kurama by his name, rather than calling him a beast or ‘it’. “You know it! Although, it wasn’t easy, I’ll give you that. The bastard really gave me a hard time. But eventually, we came to really understand each other, ya know? And besides, he wasn’t himself when he attacked the village all those years ago. He was… controlled. By a masked Uchiha.”

Itachi’s eyes widened at that. “So the village is rightfully suspicious of my clan,” he whispered. He looked heartbroken, and Naruto again felt anger at how Itachi had been treated in the other timeline.

“It’s no one who’s in the village now,” Naruto reassured him. “He’s been gone from the Leaf for a long time now. But that’s not what I’ve brought you here to talk about. At least, not yet.”

Itachi seemed to be struggling with himself to not ask for more on the matter but eventually acquiesced. “Alright,” Naruto said. “I know about the coup that’s planned.” Itachi didn’t seem to be surprised at this point. Naruto figured he was just in a state of dull shock by now, with all of the revelations within the past few minutes, so he simply continued what he had previously rehearsed. “I want to prevent it from happening. In my time, the coup was stopped, but the means were bloody and unforgivable. The entire Uchiha clan was massacred in one night due to the actions of one Shimura Danzou. He is not to be trusted, Itachi. He says he wants to do what is best for the village, but his views are skewed. He will commit countless crimes in the name of ‘protecting’ the village if we do not stop him now. But he is crafty as well. He will try to escape by using political influence, or he will send out underground Root agents to do his dirty work. We will need to be smarter than him. Do you understand?”

There was a long silence. Water dripped from the ceiling, creating tiny ripples where it impacted the flooded sewer floor. “ **Did you break the Uchiha**?” Kurama remarked, narrowing his crimson eyes. Itachi seemed to shake himself out of his stupor at the fox’s resounding voice. His eyes darted up towards the massive tailed beast, still nervous around him but less so than before. Kurama simply lounged behind his bars, looking as though he hadn’t a care in the world.

“This is a lot to take in. Do you have a plan for how we will outsmart Danzou-sama? I… report to him and the Hokage on a weekly basis to discuss the happenings within my clan. The Hokage favors his word heavily, and the rest of the council is under his thumb. He is powerful, as you say. I never thought the plan for a coup would come to such a violent end. I should have been trying harder to find a solution before now.” Itachi pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly deep in thought.

“This may sound a bit ridiculous but… have you thought about giving public relations a shot?” Naruto suggested. He had thought about this a lot over the past week or so since coming to the past and come to realize that the root of many of the Uchiha’s problems came from their interactions with the rest of the village. It stemmed back to the conflict between Uchiha and Senju and was worsened by the Nidaime’s policies towards the raven-haired clan, which resulted in them being indirectly isolated when they were assigned as Konoha’s police force. It didn’t help that they now all lived within a walled compound at the edge of the village.

“Public… relations?” Itachi repeated, tilting his head slightly, which only served to remind Naruto of the boy’s corvid summons. “I suppose that could be worth an attempt. I… yes, actually. The elders are always upset about how the village disrespects our clan, but perhaps it is simply because most members do not attempt to socialize with outsiders.”

“ **I await the day when the Uchiha actively seek _friendship_** ,” Kurama commented snidely. “ **But I agree with the brat. This is the safest way to avert the massacre. But we will need to keep a close eye on that filth, Danzou. He won’t lie down and accept our interference so easily**.”

“Right,” Naruto said. “So this is what I have in mind…”

関係はすべてなんだ。

Kankei wa subete nan da.

Connections are everything.

Uchiha Fugaku frowned down at Naruto as the blonde stood before him within the Uchiha compound. After discussing their plans, Itachi had agreed to introduce Naruto to the head of his clan. After all, he and Sasuke were friends now and the relationship was going to come out one way or another. They may as well make use of it.

“Uchiha-sama. Thank you for meeting with me on such short notice,” Naruto said formally. It was unnatural for him, but he had to be at his best if he was going to convince the stoic clan head.

“Hn,” Fugaku said. ‘ _Wow, even Sasuke’s dad says it. Who would have thought am I right?_ ’ Kurama was unamused. “Uzumaki Naruto. I’ve heard of the pranks that you like to play in the village. You’re not planning on doing anything to this compound, are you?”

Naruto shook his head. “No, nothing like that. I’m actually here because I’m friends with Sasuke, and I was hoping to get to know his family better.” As good an excuse as any, really. “He’s my first friend, ya know. No one’s ever really paid me much attention before, so I’m really grateful to him. I want to return the favor, ya know?” And cue the sympathy play.

Fugaku frowned. “Friend? Sasuke hasn’t mentioned anything like that.”

“Ah-haha, he probably wouldn’t have. He’s private like that, and not so touchy-feely. You would know, of course,” Naruto responded, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

“Of course. And why is he not here now, then?”

Itachi shifted noticeably at Naruto’s side. “He’s training with Shisui at the moment. Naruto wanted to surprise Sasuke when he came home.”

Fugaku considered this for a moment, then nodded. “Very well. Come inside, then. Mikoto is making dinner. It’s been some time since we’ve had a guest from the village, so she will be pleased.”

Naruto noted how he referred to the village as though he weren’t a part of it. Hopefully, that mindset would change soon enough. Entering Sasuke’s home was a new experience for Naruto. He had never been able to do so in the old timeline, as Sasuke had lived in a new apartment outside of the compound, and he had never even been invited to that one, much less the home where his parents were murdered. It was very traditional, similar to the Hyuuga compound, but less austere. There were more decorations, weapons in particular. A stunning variety of swords were hung on the walls, clearly well-cared for and gleaming in their places. Family portraits and expensive-looking trinkets filled the empty spaces on the shelves, and Naruto felt a bit guilty for his surprise at their presence. On the outside, the Uchiha would have the whole village think they were distant, uncaring, powerful beings. But here, Naruto could see the truth of the clan. As he had learned from the Rikudou Sennin and what Sasuke had told him from his history lesson with the past Hokages, the Uchiha were plagued by the curse of hatred. However, the curse only existed due to the deep bonds of love that the clan members grew and cherished. Naruto thought of the love that was shared between Sasuke and Itachi, bright and blinding as day, and he understood. ‘ _If I can’t prevent the massacre, all of this will be lost_.’

‘ **I can admit that not all Uchiha are dreadful stains on the face of this planet…** ’ Kurama grudgingly agreed. The smell of food wafted over Naruto, and he reveled in the aroma of the spices. Arriving in the kitchen behind Fugaku and Itachi, Mikoto looked up in surprise. Then, realizing just who their guest was, her eyes widened even further.

“Oh… Uzumaki Naruto. I am surprised—I never thought I would get to meet you like this. Welcome to our home.” Mikoto looked oddly pleased, and sad even. What was going on here?

“Thank you, Mikoto-sama. I am glad to be here. But, ano, do you know me somehow?” Inwardly, Naruto cringed. That could have been stated more subtly.

“Ah, well,” she hesitated, biting her lip for a moment. “Not personally, but I’ve… heard how the villagers treat you. I’ve always thought it was rather unfair. I’m glad that you are here, so that you can see that not all of the villagers view you that way.”

_‘Do you think she knew my parents_?’ Naruto wondered. Kurama was silent for a moment. Then, ‘ ** _She seems familiar. I recall vaguely… a friend of your mother’s?_** ’

‘ _That explains it. Yet another thing I wish I had known. Sasuke and I could’ve grown up together if my parents had survived. But then… a lot of other things would have changed.’_ That was the trouble with thinking in terms of what-ifs and could-have-beens. That was simply no telling, so it was best to just not do it at all.

Naruto smiled towards Mikoto. “That means a lot. Thank you, Mikoto-sama.”

Just then, another pair of footsteps sounded from behind. “Naruto? What are you doing here?” Sasuke said, a look of disbelief on his face. Shisui stood just behind him, looking equally surprised.

“Surprise! This is why I really wanted to leave earlier. After all, if we’re gonna be rivals, we’ve gotta know more about each other!” Naruto explained happily. Sasuke’s brow wrinkled in confusion. Really, these Uchiha needed to get out more and socialize. Having a friend over shouldn’t be such a big deal. Shisui, on the other hand, was grinning.

“It’s nice to have someone new come into the compound now and then. I hope it’s alright if I stay for dinner too?” Shisui asked, looking towards Fugaku. The man grunted in response, which was taken as a yes by all who were fluent in Uchiha. And so Naruto settled down for a night of playing Get to Know You.

It was fun, pulling out his inner child and telling stories about things that he had supposedly learned at the academy, or even some of the pranks he had played. Surprisingly enough, even Fugaku had begun to relax as time went on. And if Naruto wasn’t mistaken, he had even smiled slightly at one point. Sasuke argued openly with Naruto on one point or another of Taijutsu, Shisui enthralled the audience with a story from a B-rank mission he had gone one a while back, and while Itachi didn’t have much to say, the things he did add were intelligent remarks that everyone paid attention to. For a moment, Naruto could almost feel as if he were a part of this family, and he wanted to hold onto that feeling. It was different from anything he had ever experienced before, being able to sit at a dinner table and enjoy a homecooked meal. He wished it could last forever.

Eventually, Shisui commented on Naruto’s outstanding Taijutsu abilities, which captured Fugaku’s interest heavily. “Where did you learn to fight in such a way, Naruto?” he asked.

“Lots of practice!” Naruto explained, gesturing widely with his arms. “I like to watch shinobi spar at the training fields, and copy what they do, ya know? They usually chase me away when they see me, but I’ve gotten better at hiding lately too. It helps when I go to do my pranks too, ya know. I haven’t been caught in a while! And if I don’t get caught, the old man can’t really punish me either.” Naruto smirked at that. Fugaku raised his eyebrows, and eventually just shook his head in exasperation.

“I suppose that’s one way to train. Well, keep at it then, and you can help Sasuke get better too. Like his brother.” Naruto frowned at that, and Fugaku even looked confused at the response. “What is it?”

Naruto sighed. “Sasuke’s his own person, dattebayo. I get that there’s a lot of pressure to be the best, to hold up the Uchiha reputation at all, but… well, Itachi’s a genius. Sasuke’s really good too, but he’s different. They’re different. He will get strong, _really_ strong one day. I believe in him, I do! He is my rival after all, and I won’t let my rival be weak! But I don’t think it’s fair to compare him to Itachi… you know?”

Fugaku was silent for a long time. Everyone was holding their breaths, especially Sasuke. _Did I screw up?_ But then, Fugaku looked over at Sasuke. Really looked. “… You’re right,” he finally admitted. “Sasuke. I haven’t been fair, have I.”

“Otou-san…” Sasuke started, but Fugaku shook his head, interrupting him. “No. Itachi grew up differently and has seen things that you haven’t… that I’m glad you haven’t. It only makes sense that the two of you would be different, and I have been holding you up to unrealistic standards. For that… I am sorry, Sasuke. I haven’t been a very good father to you.”

Sasuke’s mouth hung open for a moment, but he quickly snapped it shut when he realized. “I—thank you, Otou-san.” And he slumped there in his chair, unable to formulate more of a response. Naruto grinned in relief, and soon enough Shisui broke the silence with a joke. Normalcy returned to the conversation quickly, and when Naruto met Sasuke’s eyes, all he could see was gratefulness.

He stayed at the Uchiha residence long after the food was eaten, enjoying the socialization and opportunity to really get to know Sasuke’s family, including Shisui. And when he eventually went home late that night, he would have been lying if he’d said there wasn’t a skip in his step.

家族を強く握って、さもないと何がなくなったのか決して気づけないでしょう。

Kazoku wo tsuyoku nigitte, samonai to nani ga naku natta no ka kesshite kidzukenai deshou.

Hold on tight to family, otherwise you will never realize what’s been lost.

Naruto would have been fortunate that night to have pleasant dreams of family and things that he had never had. However, this was not to be. Instead, his mind decided to remember that which he had been desperately avoiding since he had returned to the past. So far, he had only succeeded in this by working his body to exhaustion each day through training his mind and body. Shadow clones were of great assistance in this, as he could accumulate many days’ worth of mental strain in the span of hours. Today, however, he had been able to let his guard down and rest somewhat. So of course, the nightmares came to play.

Sasuke’s blank, unseeing eyes. Sakura’s pink hair covered in grime, stained with the blood of herself and those she had been unable to save. Kakashi’s face shredded beyond recognition, a successful attempt by Madara to obliterate his Sharingan. Countless more lifeless corpses flashed through Naruto’s mind as he slept, twisting in his sheets. Neji. Shikamaru. Kiba. _Hinata_. He gasped, unable to wake up, unwilling to remain trapped in his own dreams. As his panic, grief, and terror spun out of control, however, something changed.

A warm feeling. Soft orange light, slowly washing over everything until it faded into nothing. And suddenly, Naruto found himself standing in front of Kurama, panting and sweating even in his mindscape. But Kurama just looked into his eyes, patient and understanding. Stumbling, Naruto approached the great fox and fell against his shoulder, uncaring of what he would think. And thankfully enough, Kurama did not move away. He was uncomfortable, perhaps, but nevertheless, he allowed Naruto this comfort. A single orange tail approached slowly, hesitantly, before wrapping around Naruto’s body, encasing him in warmth. And so as Naruto’s tears gradually slowed and came to a halt, he sank his fingers into the blessedly soft fur and closed his eyes until he sank back into unawareness. Kurama remained, watching over Naruto’s consciousness through the night. There would be no more nightmares now—not if he could help it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gosh, this chapter was tough to write. Lots of dialogue right off the bat. I hope you like it, though, and know I couldn't resist some fluff with Naruto and Kurama at the end there. Our boy is hurting a lot, he has scars in his memories, and not everything is okay. But he will get better. Someone mentioned Kurama not being aggro at an Uchiha, so I figured I had to make up for that a bit, haha. Thanks for noting that! I try my best to keep everyone in character, but I'm not perfect. As for Fugaku, he's portrayed as being very strict in the anime, but I do believe he can be redeemed. So yay for some quick Talk no Jutsu and Sasuke having a happy family! :)
> 
> Thank you for the comments and kudos! Don't expect a constant upload schedule, I am a college student and I may have to slow down my writing a bit so I don't burn out. But I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and please review for more!


	5. 第五章：イタズラ！ダンゾウとふかぜる - Dai Goshou: Itazura! Danzou to Fukazeru - Chapter Five: Prank! Messing with Danzou

The Henge was well crafted. Not perfect, but it would take a highly discerning eye to see through its layers. Naruto checked the unfamiliar reflection once more in the mirror. Unruly brown hair, dark eyes, and sharp facial features contrasted starkly with his usual appearance. He was taller as well, matching his height and build from when he was physically seventeen. Instead of his usual orange attire, he sported dark Shinobi clothing with mesh underneath and bindings around his forearms and calves. It was a different henge from the one he had been using to train in, as he wanted to avoid any and all possible associations that could be made between this Henge and Uzumaki Naruto. Kurama was of great help when it came to assembling the Genjutsu, as while Naruto had improved over the years, he was far from skilled. However, with the application of his notice-me-not seal and his other Henge fortification seal, he felt fairly confident in his ability to pull this off. Despite said confidence, though, he could not completely escape from his nerves.

After double and triple-checking that he had all of the ninja tools and seals he may need and more, he used a shunshin to stealthily escape from his apartment. The ANBU guarding his sleeping shadow clone remained none the wiser, and—wait, was that ANBU Yamato? It was. ‘ _I almost feel bad for getting him twice with the same trick. Even if hasn’t happened to_ this _Yamato before_.’

‘ ** _Bah. You know you enjoy tricking him_** ,’ Kurama scoffed, although his eyes glinted with amusement. Naruto shrugged inwardly, accepting that the fox was right—as usual.

With a whisper of nature energy, Naruto was easily able to detect the chakra signature he was looking for. It felt slimy and poisonous, grasping tendrils spreading out and infecting everything it touched. Although his imagination may have had a role to play in that particular visualization, he admitted to himself. After all, it wasn’t as if he could _see_ the chakra, per se, which was a common misconception when it came to sensory abilities. He didn’t have any sort of Doujutsu. Instead, this sensing worked more like a radar, sending him information via returning pings which he could send out in all directions. And those pings were telling him that something nasty was lurking in the depths beneath the Hokage monument.

Naruto leaped easily over the rooftops of Konoha, keeping to the shadows and maintaining his senses to avoid detection. He was out of breath by the time he reached the base of the monument, but it was a definite improvement over his physical condition from just two weeks prior. His muscles burned constantly from the punishment he had been putting them through daily, but it was worth it to be able to run just a bit farther, move a smidge faster, punch slightly harder. These things could all determine the difference between death and survival.

Scrutinizing the area before him, Naruto was unable to discern any sort of obvious entrance leading to where his senses were pointing him. However, he could sense the faint chakra signature of a sealing array just over… there! An illusion covering the rock face, behind which a door was hidden. Approaching slowly, Naruto noticed the presence of two ANBU—no, two Root agents guarding the entrance under the guise of protecting the nearby Hokage tower. His notice-me-not seal would not be enough to distract the loyal drones from their duty. Luckily, he had prepared for this in his plans. Kneeling down on a nearby rooftop, Naruto pulled a new seal tag from a storage scroll in his bag.

The seal had wind (風) and water (水) intertwined as the base, representing the ocean and the sky. At each of the four corners, there was the kanji for illusion (幻), on the top was mirror (鏡), and lastly on the bottom was transparency (透).

The thing about sealing is that each seal is unique, and its use is determined by its designer. It’s easy to copy a seal that has already been created, but a new one requires a certain level of imagination and open-mindedness. After all of the ink has been drawn, most seals would require a master’s eye to determine what the base kanji and other symbols that have been incorporated are. Just slapping a few kanji onto a piece of sealing paper is not enough—that is just the concept of the seal. The hard part comes after: designing the chakra flow system. Lines of chakra imbued ink determine how each symbol connects to one another, how the seal will interact with the world and the user. Then there have to be precautions to prevent foreign chakra from disrupting the seal’s function, as well as measures against overflow and spontaneous combustion. It only grows more complicated when the seal becomes multi-layered, like the one that was used to seal Kurama within Naruto.

Naruto had designed this seal within the last week based off of inspiration from his notice-me-not seal. This one would make him completely invisible, at least to the naked eye. A Doujutsu user would still be able to see his chakra, but light would pass through the illusion cast by the seal as if he weren’t there at all, simply bending around him and whatever he was wearing. As for his own vision, he had implemented a system that would allow light to reach his eyes, but no one would be able to see any floating eyeballs. Because that would be… well, _awkward_.

_I still can’t stand reading for too long, but I’ll suffer through reading about photons and wavelengths if it lets me create better seals_ , Naruto thought. After all, he would never have learned the art of sealing if not for having forced himself to pick up some old books and scrolls from the hidden vaults of Uzushiogakure. Lifting the seal towards his right forearm, a slight application of chakra was all he needed to transfer the ink to his arm. Then, he activated the seal and witnessed his own arm disappear completely from view. Chakra hummed around him, charging the air and causing invisible goosebumps to rise on his skin. For a chakra monster like him, the drain was negligible. _Thank Kami for my Uzumaki genes_.

Unfortunately, the seal still had a limit to its use. He would have about twenty minutes before the ink was eroded by chakra flow, after which he would become visible again. He had only had time to prepare one in his rush to get this done as soon as possible, so he would have to be quick. Hopefully, he would be able to work out a more permanent version for the future.

With that in mind, Naruto leaped down silently from his spot on the rooftop, landing in the soft grass near the base of the monument. The Root agents didn’t even flinch at his presence, so Naruto continued towards the entranceway. From here, he could see the seal tags hidden in nooks and crannies within the rock face which worked to generate the illusion over the door. He didn’t need to work with those. Instead, he turned his attention to the identification and alarm seals. After inspecting them carefully, Naruto determined that an alarm would sound if anyone who wasn’t Root or Danzou attempted to enter, and the trespasser would then be frozen in place, paralyzed by a secondary function of the identification seal. He scoffed. Not so long ago, he would have been amazed by such seals, but now that he had gained so much knowledge on the topic, these were child’s play. Oh, and would you look at that? Naruto was, in fact, a child now! He disabled the alarm and identification seals easily with a handful of general countering seals from his storage scroll. Seriously, what kind of amateur didn’t take measures against such an obvious vulnerability. ‘ _Mattaku… Great, now I’m starting to sound like Yamato-taichou_ ,’ Naruto bemoaned.

‘ ** _You should be glad that Danzou doesn’t have your sealing prowess, brat. Do you seriously want to have to deal with that?_** ’ Kurama said. Naruto shook his head fervently, despite being invisible. Not in a million years! Although he would have felt better if _Konoha_ had better access to sealing masters, he didn’t want Danzou to have access to any such resource.

With the security disabled, Naruto stepped through the illusionary rock face and into an empty corridor lit by industrial lightbulbs. Quickly and silently, he traversed the isolated halls, only having to avoid the occasional Root agent. Security was low—paranoid though Danzou was, there were no current outstanding threats to Konoha, and Danzou had no reason to believe that anyone knew of Root’s continued presence anyway.

But then something happened that Naruto had foolishly failed to consider. A familiar chakra signature was fast approaching, and before long the source came into view around a corner. He wasn’t wearing a mask, though he may as well have been when one considered the completely blank expression on his paper-white face. _Sai_.

Sai, like all the others before him, failed to notice Naruto’s presence. But now that Naruto had seen him, yet another thing had been added to his never-ending list of self-assigned missions: _Save Sai_. _And his brother, while I’m at it._

There was nothing he could do for him now. He would need a better plan, and he didn’t have time to do anything other than what he had come for. Regretfully, he stepped aside and allowed Sai to pass him on his way through the hidden Root base. As soon as he was gone, Naruto continued through the twisting passageways.

Eventually, he came before a metal door guarded by two of Danzou’s agents. The man’s chakra signature was just behind it, shifting slightly as he moved around doing whatever evil sneaky things he was currently up to.

‘ ** _Sometimes I forget how immature you still are…_** ’ Kurama drawled.

‘ _Better than becoming a dried-up old geezer like him with no sense of fun_ ,’ Naruto retorted. ‘ _Anyway, now that I’m here… it’s time for the distraction. Have I mentioned how useful Fuuinjutsu is before? Because it is. Here goes!_ ”

Naruto sent chakra through yet another seal, this time etched on the back of his palm. Instead of being consumed by the seal, the chakra was instead cycled through its pathways once before being shot up into the ceiling, through the rock, and out into the open air. The chakra homed onto its counterpart, which was stored in a system of seals written invisibly on the walls of the Inuzuka compound. As soon as the beacon contacted the vast array, chaos broke loose. Or at least, Naruto supposed it did. He could only tell so much from the movement of chakra alone. But according to his plan, once the seals activated, they would cast a subtle Genjutsu on the Inuzuka hounds, causing them to howl and run wild. Naruto hoped that they would cause enough chaos throughout Konoha that Danzou would feel the need to investigate what had happened himself. After all, the Inuzuka hounds were an important part of Konoha’s alarm system, and if they began to howl it was to be assumed that the village was under attack.

Luckily for him, Root worked fast. Several agents used shunshin no jutsu at once, appearing outside of Danzou’s office before being allowed to enter. Naruto crossed his fingers, waiting. Danzou’s chakra signature grew agitated moments before the metal door swung open. The man paused, peering around the hallway all of a sudden. Naruto held his breath, waiting… then relaxed when Danzou disregarded whatever he may have sensed and used a shunshin to be on his way. ‘ _People have no respect for good old walking these days,_ ’ Naruto remarked. However, the door was still open, so he moved quickly to slip through before the two Root agents could close it again.

The office was gloomy and sparse, which was, honestly, nothing more than Naruto had expected. He also didn’t expect to find anything of use just by sifting through the drawers in Danzou’s desk. Instead, he used sage mode to follow the small traces of chakra in the room to a well-hidden seal on the wall. Naruto casually applied another counter seal to it, after which a section of the wall opened up to reveal a larger room behind it. _Bingo_.

Books. Scrolls. Records. In _chronological_ order. _Alphabetized_. Oh, he was really making this easy for Naruto. Wasting no time, Naruto removed a large number of copy scrolls from his storage scroll before moving to sift through all the dirt that Danzou had oh-so-conveniently prepared on himself. ‘ _Third Shinobi War… Root operations… cooperation with Orochimaru… oh, and notes on Yakushi Kabuto!_ ’ This really was the gold mine. Naruto grabbed as many scrolls as he could, quickly making copies and placing the originals back on the shelves. It really would be best if Danzou didn’t find out about any of this until it was too late for him to retaliate.

With time running out on his invisibility seal, Naruto resealed all of his scrolls, returned the room to the way he had found it, and began to make his escape, making sure to remove the counter seal from the wall. The door leading out of Danzou’s office was still closed, but if he had timed this right… the door opened and Danzou came storming in. And was that a… bite mark on his hand? ‘ _Serves him right!_ ’ Naruto laughed in his mindscape, perhaps too gleefully. Kurama seemed to be rubbing off on him a bit. He wondered only briefly what the man had done to get bitten by an Inuzuka dog, and was so distracted that he almost forgot that he had actually been _waiting_ for the door to open. He slipped out just before it closed and began to move quickly away from Danzou’s office. There was no change in the man’s chakra signature, but there was still a chance that something could go wrong.

Naruto retraced his steps through the Root headquarters until he made it back to the entrance. Once outside, he removed the counter seals he had placed to get past the security seals, then proceeded to distance himself from the base as quickly as possible. Only when he stopped did he notice how his heart was pounding, how the adrenaline was causing his blood to race through his veins. With a slight, painful sizzle, the invisibility seal wore off, and Naruto let out a sigh of relief. He had what he needed. He didn’t get caught. Now, he just needed to get this information to the Hokage somehow, without revealing himself in the process. Because that wouldn’t be hard at all, right?

多忙な日から目を閉じてちょっと休んでくれないか？ 幸福が大切なので。

Tabou na hi kara me wo tojite yasunde kurenai ka? Koufuku ga taisetsu na no de.

Would you mind closing your eyes and resting a bit from a busy day? Because happiness is important.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has been commenting. I love each and every one I receive, and I actually got really motivated to write this chapter today after receiving one such comment. I hope you enjoyed it! I've been eager to write about Naruto's Fuuinjutsu abilities, because honestly Fuuinjutsu is so cool and doesn't receive the attention it deserves in canon. Also, I don't know if you're learning any Japanese from my weird little transitions that I write, but if you are, yay! Lastly, everyone, please take care of yourselves and have a wonderful day ^_^


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